Bush Stone-curlew

Burhinus grallarius

Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius)
Image: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA, wikipedia

The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly at night in search of invertebrates such as insects. Its grey-brown coloration is distinguished by dark streaks, its eyes are large and legs are long. It is capable of flight, but relies on the camouflage of its plumage to evade detection during the day; the bush curlew adopts a rigid posture when it becomes aware of an observer. Both sexes care for two eggs laid on the bare ground, usually sited near bush in a shaded position or next to a fallen branch. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 61,528 times across 9 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

See the Bush Stone-curlew on the live map

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

RegionFirst arrivalLast arrivalTypical peakAreas
Oceania29 December 20258 June 20268 June 20263

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.